His Redemption

Sebastian’s POV

‘He’s dead.’

I looked up at my father. ‘Who?’

‘George,’ my father replied with a nonchalance that was in full contrast to the news. ‘Doctor just called me. The surgery had complications; he just went into a coma.’

My thoughts went immediately to Liora. Did she know already? She must be devastated.

‘So it’s confirmed he’s dead or…?’

‘Not confirmed, but death is inevitable.’

I went back to working on my computer. Dad had come to see me and, as it seems, deliver this news.

‘Do you know what this means?’ He asked me, leaning forward across the table.

I glanced at him long enough to shake my head and return my focus to the computer. I wasn’t doing anything serious on it. I just couldn’t bring myself to look at him for long, especially now that he has that look on his face.

‘Our plan is going perfectly as planned,’ he chuckled. ‘With the father almost out of the way, we’d finally have the company to ourselves. Of course, that deal with the daughter ended, but on the legal charges she’s facing- especially for almost trying to kill you, she might as well just hand everything to you on a platter.’

‘Liora didn’t try to kill me,’ I blurted out.

My father went silent, his eyes narrowed as he watched me.

‘I know,’ he replied in a cold tone.

I turned my full attention to him. ‘You knew?’

‘Of course I did,’ he settled back in his chair. ‘The fingerprints on the necklace had another unidentified match, plus it’s unlikely she’d have used something as traceable as a necklace you gave her to try and kill you. Except if she’s actually dumber than an ostrich.’

But Liora wasn’t dumb; hell, she was smarter than most women I’ve come across. The times we talked, laughed, her genuine smile lighting up her face, it wasn’t dumb.

‘Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?’ I asked my father.

‘Earlier?’ He narrowed his eyes again. ‘Was that before or after she leaked your secret to the entire media, and now I’m going through hell trying to cover up your mess?’

That shut me up for the moment. After he left, I also left. I had had enough of the office for the day.

Going back to the house felt so empty. Even as Vivienne kissed me and began ranting about what to wear for dinner tonight, I still felt empty.

I couldn’t stop thinking about her face, especially these hazel eyes that accentuated her innocence; the same eyes that looked at me longingly as we made love for the first time…

‘Sebastian!’

I snapped out of my thoughts as Vivienne snapped her fingers at me.

She held two dresses in front of me. ‘These are from Fashion Nova. Red or green, which should I wear?’

I didn’t care what she wore; she might look like a princess from the Indies, but she wasn’t Liora.

‘Wear anything appropriate,’ I stood up to leave the bedroom. ‘We’re having dinner at my parents’ house.’

Once I left the bedroom, I called my mother to inform her that Vivienne and I and Vivienne was coming. She didn’t sound happy, but I didn’t care.

I just needed to get Liora out of my head. She betrayed my trust; who knew what other things she may have done without me knowing?

The drive to my parents’ was a quiet one, and dinner was even more formal if Vivienne hadn’t tried to drag everyone into a conversation.

Mother tried to be civil and respond, but father didn’t say almost anything at all.

‘Sebastian,’ he suddenly spoke to me. ‘The detective says you took back the necklace after they extracted all the fingerprints. Why?’

‘I had to return it to her,’ I answered adamantly.

‘You went back to see her?’ Vivienne gasped.

‘I don’t-‘

‘You don’t know, Sebastian?’ He didn’t let me talk. ‘You never know. Every single time I have to clean up your messes. When will you ever learn that you do not fall in love with the enemy?’

‘She was never my enemy,’ the words were quiet but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Vivienne’s gasp was sharp, my mother froze in mid-motion and my father stared at me like he was seeing something deeply disappointing.

I only realized what I had said too late.

My father stood slowly. ‘Love makes men stupid. And stupidity is the only luxury you can’t afford.’

I clenched my fists under the table, because even now- after everything that had happened- I still couldn’t bring myself to hate her.

Vivienne spent the rest of the night sulking, not knowing how futile it was to try to get me to comfort her. Sleep eluded me that night. No matter how hard I tried, the image of her walking out with nothing but a suitcase refused to leave me.

The next day, I tried to settle in the office and focus on work, but I couldn’t. It felt so wrong; everything felt wrong.

I got out of work and decided to head somewhere other than the house, just to clear my head. As I approached my car, a man stepped out from between two parked vehicles.

‘Mr Carvers?’ He called out.

My instincts flared up immediately. ‘Who are you?’

He raised his hands in surrender. ‘I’m not here to cause trouble. I work at the Lost and Found at the Grand Central market. I’ve been trying to reach you for days. I’ve been trying to reach your wife too ever since I saw the news.’

Wife. My chest tightened, the words hitting me raw. The news about my “accident“ coupled with the necklace as the puzzle piece had somehow leaked.

I opened my car door. ‘You should leave. Now is not a good time.’

‘Sir please,’ he walked closer, ‘it’s about her necklace, the sapphire one as she described it.’

My hands froze and I had to shut the door.

‘What about it?’ I asked slowly.

He swallowed. ‘Your wife and Giselle came to me personally that day. She was terrified that she had lost the necklace. So she filed a complaint and I logged it.’

I remained silent.

‘The item was never recovered by us,’ he went on. ‘It never got to us. Seeing the news, I just came to clarify one thing: that necklace resurfacing had nothing to do with us.’

My chest felt tight, like the air had thinned out. ‘Are you saying-‘

‘What I’m saying,’ he interrupted gently, ‘is that whatever happened to or with that necklace happened after your wife lost it, was not because of her.’

He reached into his pocket and produced a paper which he gave to me. I read through and found out it was the details of the logged-in complaint Liora had made.

I could imagine her being tense and trying to explain to the man how she had lost her necklace. But why did she lie to me about it then?

She would have just told me. I could have worked something out.

‘I thought you should know,’ he said, ‘before people start blaming the wrong person. I don’t want any problems too.’

He left me standing there with a weight that felt unbearable for me to handle.

It was around midnight when my father called, and I had a hunch as to why.

‘Sebastian my boy, the company is all ours for the taking.’ I could hear the triumph in his voice.

It was just another win for Reginald Carvers before he’d go on to dominate more business empires.

‘I grieve for poor old George. I really do. But son, I am proud of you.’

I ended the call, and sat in silence, the ambivalence eating me up. I was supposed to be happy: I had made my father proud, and he was pleased with me. This was what I had been living my whole life for: to make my father proud of me.

But when he said those words, I didn’t feel happy anymore. The thought that I had betrayed someone I loved overshadowed any feeling of happiness I ought to have.

I needed her back. I needed Liora.